March 28, 2006
Texas A&M women?â„¢s basketball coach Gary Blair has been named the National Coach of the Year by Women?â„¢s Basketball News Service.
The organization also named A&M guard Takia Starks to its national All-Freshman Team.
?This a great honor that speaks more about the job my assistant coaches did and how my players performed this year,? Blair said. ?I have the best coaching staff in the country and they prove it everyday. This year?â„¢s team worked extremely hard and accomplished a lot for Texas A&M and for that I am very happy.?
Blair, in his third season at A&M, led the Aggies to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1996 after the team posted a 23-9 record and a third place finish in the Big 12 Conference. It was the third most wins in school history and the best league finish for the Aggies since the inception of the Big 12.
A&M posted its best ever league record at 11-5. The Aggies made a +7 improvement in Big 12 wins from last year which is the second best two-year improvement by a team with a losing conference record the previous year in Big 12 history.
Blair guided the Aggies back to the top 25 rankings for the first time since 1996 as he became one of four active coaches to take three different schools to the Associated Press Top 25.
He also became the fourth coach in NCAA history to take three different teams to the NCAA Tournament.
It marks the second time that WBNS has named Blair its national coach of the Year. WBNS selected him in 1995 after Blair completed his second season at Arkansas.
Starks, a freshman from Houston Westfield High School, became A&M?â„¢s all-time leader in scoring by a freshman as she scored 364 points. She tallied the second best scoring average by a freshman in A&M history at 11.9 while finishing third among Big 12 freshmen in scoring average this season.
?We knew the type of player T-Kay (Starks) could be when we recruited her,? Blair said. ?She was the top player in the state and a sought after recruit nationally. This year as a freshman showed that she was one of the best at her position in our league.?
She was named to the Big 12 All-Rookie Team by league?â„¢s head coaches and to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team by the Kansas City Star and the Waco Tribune-Herald.
Women's Basketball News Service
Player of the Year: Cappie Pondexter, Rutgers
Freshman of the Year: Courtney Paris, Oklahoma
Defensive Player of the Year: Sherrill Baker, Georgia
Most Improved Player of Year: Ambrosia Anderson, Brigham Young
Coach of the Year: Gary Blair, Texas A&M
Most Underrated Player: Leah Rush, Oklahoma
Biggest Loss of the Year: Retirement of Marsha Sharp, Texas Tech
First team
Cappie Pondexter, 5-9 Senior G (Rutgers)
Siemone Augustus, 6-1 Senior G (LSU)
Monique Currie, 6-0 Senior G/F (Duke)
Sophia Young, 6-1 Senior F (Baylor)
Candice Wiggins, 5-11 Sophomore G (Stanford)
Courtney Paris, 6-4 Freshman Center (Oklahoma)
Tasha Humphrey, 6-2 Sophomore Center (Georgia)
Jessica Davenport, 6-5 Junior Center (Ohio State)
Ivory Latta, 5-6 Junior G (North Carolina)
Candace Parker, 6-3 Freshman F (Tennessee)
Second team
Candice Dupree, 6-2 Senior C (Temple)
Sylvia Fowles, 6-6 Sophomore C (LSU)
Khara Smith, 6-2 Senior C (DePaul)
Tara Boothe, 6-1 Senior F (Xavier)
Tamara James, 5-9 Senior F (Miami)
Kim Smith, 6-1 Senior F (Utah)
Noelle Quinn, 6-0 Junior G (UCLA)
Liz Shimek, 6-1 Senior F (Michigan State)
Megan Duffy, 5-8 Senior G (Notre Dame)
Crystal Kelly, 6-3 Sophomore F (Western Kentucky)
Third team
Ann Strother, 6-3 Senior G/F (Connecticut)
Sherill Baker, 5-8 Senior G (Georgia)
Ambrosia Andersen, 6-1 Senior FG (BYU)
Lyndsey Medders, 5-8 Junior G (Iowa State)
Shona Thorburn, 5-10 Senior G (Utah)
Lisa Willis, 5-11 Senior G (UCLA)
LaToya Davis, 6-1 Senior F (Texas Tech)
Lindsay Shearer, 6-1 Senior F (Kent State)
Melanie Boeglin, 5-6 Senior G (Indiana State)
Kimberly Beck, 5-8 Sophomore G (George Washington)
All-Freshman team
Courtney Paris, 6-4 C (Oklahoma)
Candace Parker, 6-3 F (Tennessee)
Alexis Gray-Lawson, 5-8 G (California)
Takia Starks, 5-8 G (Texas A&M)
Quanitra Hollingworth, 6-4 C (Virginia Commonwealth)
Devanei Hampton, 6-3 C (California)
Shalee Lehning, 5-8 G (Kansas State)
Morgan Skouby, 6-6 C (Iowa)
Ashley Langford, 5-5 G (Tulane)
Megan McGuffey, 5-11 G (Wyoming)